www.China-Defense.com

The 1st Mechanized Infantry Division (MID) was officially created on April 15, 1955 by the order of the Central Military Commission (CMC). It was a combination of the190th infantry division of the 64th army, the 170th artillery regiment, and the Huabei independent tank regiment with the entire equipment handover by the Soviet Union's 7th Mechanized Infantry Division.

It was a rather large formation with a total of 8 regiments with the following Table of Equipment (TOE):

3x Mechanized Infantry Regiments (1x Tank Btn, 1x Arty Btn, 1x AAA Coy, 2x Mech Inf Btn)
1x Main Battle Tank Regiment
1x Heavy Tank Regiment
1x Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
2x Artillery Regiments

It was stationed near the Yellow Sea area and, like other independent tank divisions of the 1950 and 60s, it was placed under the direct control of CMC's Armor Command. Their task was to counter any amphibious operation conducted by a possible US or Soviet invasion in Beijing's rear. It took part in the 1957 amphibious exercises, and the October 1958 Binghai costal defense mobilization exercises.

People's War calls for luring the advanced Soviet Army deep inside China in a protracted all-out war. In reality, the PLA's force structure during the 1960s and 70s did not permit it to fight high intensity combat in limited geographical areas against the technologically sophisticated Soviet army. In addition, the PLA's ability to prevent a limited Soviet incursion into China for punitive purpose against high value targets such as nuclear sites was quite minimal. The PLA simply did not have the firepower and tactical mobility to challenge soviet forces in intensive military operations. Since the PLA had limited armor and mechanized formations had no impact on overall balances, they were reserved for special contingencies, such as the amphibious operations cited above.

An updated doctrine of “People's War Under Modern Conditions,” that was debated openly between 1976 and 1979, was adopted in 1981. The modified doctrine called for the ability to stop a limited Soviet incursion or limited Soviet drive during an all-out war. Rather than carry out an all-out arsenal upgrade for the entire army, PLA created two mechanized Group Armies (GA) to fulfill the doctrine requirement. As with the 1st Mechanized Infantry Division, the two new GA were not an attempt to change the overall balance, but rather designed to perform the specified operational objectives of protecting high value areas in a limited incursion or to act as a strategic reserve to counterattack during an all-out war. To increase the number of tanks and IFVs available for the troops, the PLA armor command was downgraded as a department with the General Staff Department (GSD) with its assets distributed directly to the tactical units as organic elements. While the two mechanized GA were (and are) part of a Military Region (MR), they were actually reporting closely to the CMC.